A motion to suppress the traffic stop that led to a drug arrest did not have the desired result in Jones County Superior Court last week.

If the motion by defense attorney William Noland had been successful, his client, 18-year-old Kaleb Deason, may have been able to forget about the charge against him, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

If the traffic stop had been suppressed, the evidence gathered in the stop, including 13 baggies of marijuana, could have been found to be fruits of the poisonous tree, which in legal terms means the case would be thrown out.

Superior Court Judge James Cline presided over the May 9 hearing, and the entire case appeared to rest on the testimony of Sgt. Travis Douglas of the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.

At the end of the evidence and the attorney’s argument, Cline said the words the prosecutor wanted to hear.

“The deputy articulated to me that he had reasonable suspicion to make the traffic stop,” the judge stated. With that the motion to suppress the traffic stop was denied.